New Delhi:
Just one month to go before the Commonwealth Games and the entire nation is anxiously watching to see if India can actually pull off a world class sporting event. The maize of corruption and the litany of complaints over delays is enough do depress anyone. But the Commonwealth is primarily a sporting event and hundreds of Indian sportsmen and women will have to rise above this mess to play for their country - for them, foremost in their minds, is how they will fare as athletes, or how their teams will fare. In 24 Hours, we bring you the story of one such team playing for the first time in what is a quintessential Commonwealth game.
Netball practice session of the women's team is in progress.
Coach, Mary Mercia Lourdes Jayasekara: You are practicing for the Commonwealth Games not to win this match today. Always keep that in mind.
Netball, the ultimate Commonwealth game, is even in the sporting event's Charter.
Coach: At the beginning of the game I said we can't depend on our speed. They are very, very experienced and those are players who have been playing at a very high level for at least 8-10 years. And ours will probably be the youngest team at the Commonwealth Games. That is a plus as well as a minus.
Once played by the royal ladies of the UK, it is said to have been first introduced in the late 1800s by a lady called Martina Berg Austerbeck to her students in the Physical Education Society of London.
From London, the game spread across the British Empire. Today, the legacy continues. In countries like Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, it is a fiercely competitive sport. In India the game is only just evolving into a more serious one.
As netball is not an Olympic sport, the Commonwealth Games becomes the most prestigious event for the game. And these women will be part of India's first women's netball team to compete in the Commonwealth Games.
NDTV: Your name?
Netball player: Shireen Limaye
NDTV: Where are you from?
Shireen: Maharashtra, Pune.
NDTV: Can I ask your age?
Shireen: 15 years.
NDTV: 15, so you are the youngest?
Netball players: Yes.
NDTV: Who is the oldest?
Deepali Sharma: I am.
NDTV: You are the one who is married?
Deepali: Yes. I have a daughter.
NDTV: And what are your names?
Netball players: Rupinder Kaur
Mainisha Rathore
Santosh Jakhar
Harminder Kaur
Leela H. S.
Prachi Tehlan
Preeti Banchor
Amanjit Kaur
Neha Kansal
Neha Bajaj
Ramandeep Kaur
Priya Dahiya
NDTV: So are you very anxious about the Commonwealth Games?
Netball players: Yes. Very.
NDTV: So will all of you be playing in the Commonwealth Games for the first time?
Netball players: Yes. And it is in India.
NDTV: Have you played against the netball teams of other Commonwealth nations like Australia and New Zealand?
Netball players: No, never.
NDTV: What is your biggest fear?
Netball players: We have no fear. We are beyond fear. We have nothing to lose. We have to give it our best shot and perform well.
The girls leave after practice bidding goodbye.
We follow the girls back to their guest house and their home. But today is the festival Rakhi so the girls from Delhi will be going to their families.
NDTV: Do you have a holiday tomorrow?
Netball players: Yes.
NDTV: The girls from Raipur won't be able to go home?
Netball players: Even all of us from Punjab will not be able to go home.
NDTV: You can go if you want.
Netball players: We can go but we will not be able to come back by evening.
NDTV: How long did it take for you to get to know each other well?
Netball players: After one week everyone liked each other. Then, we started hating things about people. We fought a bit and gradually became good friends.
Netball players: We fight a lot, but there is a lot of love between us as well.
NDTV: Who is the tallest?
One Netball player: I am. I'm 6 feet, 2 inches tall
NDTV: So what is the reaction back home in Raipur?
Tall Netball player: They all just look up at me. And they pass a lot of comments. But I like being the centre of attention. The first thing everyone tells me is how will I find a boy to marry.
NDTV: Has no one ever thought of trying their hand at modelling?
Netball player: Everyone has ambitions but you have to know how to walk on the ramp.
Another Netball player says jokingly: There will be holes in the ramp if we walk down it!
Netball player: The other thing is that none of us can walk in a lady-like manner.
NDTV: Did everyone's parents support them or were they reluctant to send you away from home?
One Netball player jokingly: They were very happy to see us leave so that they could have some peace of mind.
Another Netball player: I do miss my family. My brother keeps asking me about how many days till I come home.
NDTV: So what do you do in your free time?
Netball players: Dance. They point at one and say: She is our Shakira. And point to another: And that is our Madonna.
The girls tell the ones going home for Rakhi: Don't forget to get sweets from home.
The netball team and NDTV reach the guest house.
The girls tie Rakhis to Panchli Tatkey, Coach, netball, India.
Neha and Priti: Since you protect us we have got you a Rakhi. The elder one will tie it first.
Neha Bajaj: The Rakhi has a picture of Sai Baba, since he is your favourite.
Panchli Tatkey,Coach, Netball India: If the girls have any personal problems, then they approach me. So they are close to me.
Lots of hugging, laughing and the girls go to other rooms, chatting.
Kiranjit Kaur, netball player: I was a basketball player earlier. I represented India in basketball at the previous Commonwealth Games.
NDTV: So why did you switch over to netball?
Kiranjit: Because India is taking part in limited events at these Games. The Government has not spent on basketball.
They go to the next room.
Kiranjit: My roommate is from Punjab.
NDTV: In the film 'Chak de India' we saw how a group of girls from all over India came together to play for the nation. Is it the same case here?
Kiranjit: Absolutely. We have been together for the past year and a half, so we have bonded a lot.
Coach Panchli: This time in the Commonwealth Games women will be participating in only two team events. One is hockey and the other is netball. As the host nation we have been given a chance to play netball. The women's hockey team has qualified by winning the berth.
NDTV: There has been a lot of controversy regarding the Commonwealth Games.
Coach Panchli: Yes. We Indians have a tendency to be laid back. We wake up and react only at the last minute. When we are about to drown, we finally wake up with a start.
NDTV: Has sports benefited from the Commonwealth funds?
Coach Panchli: Yes and no. We never got exposure like this before. Because of the Commonwealth Games, the girls are getting good facilities. They have good food, good kits, proper rooms. Otherwise, you stay in dormitories, in schools. We had camps like that earlier. But because of these Games, they have got good facilities and I feel a lot more girls are going to get attracted to the game because of this.
Panchali Tatke is from Pune. A javelin player, she switched to netball. An active player once, she is now the chief coach and confidante for the girls.
NDTV: What is your reaction when you hear about corruption in the Commonwealth Games?
Coach Panchli: I don't think all this corruption is happening for the first time. This is only the first time it has come out into the open. It has been happening earlier. Earlier we were very satisfied as these girls have had access to a lot more facilities than we did in our time. But when we heard about the corruption and the money involved, we have started feeling that the actual sportsman has not got much.
Some conversation over dinner:
Coach Panchli: Are you a Jat or a Jatt?
Netball player: Yes, the pronunciation of the word Jat is slightly different in Punjab and Haryana.
NDTV: How many girls were there at the start of the camp?
Coach Panchli: Initially there were 36 people, then 30 were shortlisted and finally there are 16.
NDTV: It is like a reality show on television.
Coach Panchli: Yes, very much. Each time someone or the other cries. The one who leaves invariably starts weeping. Even her friends who qualify for the next round cry along with her.
Early morning and we're back at the training. These girls have been working up a sweat since the crack of dawn.
What emerges even in the small time we spend with the girls is their bonding to their Sri Lankan coach Mary Lourdes Jaysekara, an experienced netball player who has in the past played for the highly successful Sri Lankan women's netball team. She took over as coach of the Indians 2 years ago.
NDTV: What made you decide that you could coach the team?
Coach Lourdes: India is taking part because the Games are happening here, normally it depends upon the ranking - the first 11 countries and the host - so International Federation was a bit worried because the standard of netball was very low and the teams they were going to play were very strong. So Indian federation also approached them, they wanted the federation to select the coach, so I put in my application. First I was shortlisted, then came the interview. First was the Australian coach, I was 2nd, and 3rd was from New Zealand. Australian coach came here in November 2007 and after seeing the standard, she refused. Then they offered it to me and I had a vision that these girls could be trained, they had the talent, only someone should be there to guide them, so I said yes.
NDTV: In terms of the venue, the Ausssies have had some issues with the venue. You don't have any issues?
Coach Lourdes: We Asians are used to all kinds of rough venues, so it's not a big deal.
NDTV: The girls seem to be completely bonded with you.
Coach Lourdes: My interest is my girls and the game. I am happy I have been able to bring them up to this level. So I have confidence in my girls.
NDTV: So you'll be here during the Commonwealth Games, coaching them?
Coach Lourdes: To be frank I've resigned due to various reasons and I don't want to comment on it.
In what was emerging as a charming story of dedicated young girls and their wonderful coach, the news that Lourdes has submitted her resignation comes as a bombshell.
Lourdes' elder son is in a coma and that is the chief reason she's given for her resignationbut but it is well-known in the sporting circles that she has been treated shoddily by the Sports Authority of India.
Lourdes, on her part, refuses to speak on the issue and is determined that her personal issues do not affect the girls.
Girls in the pool.
Conversation:
NDTV: Are you having fun?
Netball player: Yes. A lot.
Netball player: We have really built up our muscles.
Netball player: Our families have noticed some changes in us. We've started being more positive since we started training.
Netball players: Since we've stayed away from home we have has a lot more exposure to the outside world. We've become extroverts. Our family members say that we talk a lot more.
Deepali's is a star player in this camp. Perfectly fit and toned, she takes her sport seriously. Married with a four year old daughter, Deepali gives us a fascinating glimpse into how many women like her combine two very different colliding worlds.
Deepali's parent's home :
Deepali: My father was also an athlete. He played volleyball. The whole family loves sports. My brother won a bronze medal in the National Games for boxing. Even my uncles and cousins are actively involved in sports.
Deepali's sister: Gharwalis are generally very active, so they love sports. It is only in India that women generally stop taking part in sports after marriage. It is mainly because they do not get support from their families. But my sister's in-laws are quite supportive. Even her husband is supportive.
Deepali: I think of netball all the time. Sometimes when I am sleeping I visualise myself on the court playing with my teammates. I can see my daughter in the stands, cheering me on.
Deepali's in-law's house:
Mother-in-law: She does wear a ghunghat at home. I insist on that if her father-in-law is around. This is the first time she is not wearing one as you have come with cameras. Otherwise we adhere to the age old customs.
Deepali: When I'm at the camp, I have a completely different lifestyle and back here I follow a different set of rules. They are completely different environments. But it is fine as it keeps everyone happy.
Mother-in-law: In our society, everyone wants a son, nobody cares for the daughter. But nowadays women are doing much better than the men.
Deepali: There has been a great change in our family. We live in a large joint family and out of the twelve daughters-in-law, I am the only one who wears jeans or shorts and goes out to play.
Father-in-law: We have no issues if Deepali goes out to play. She has even been to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Mother-in-law: I don't believe that the daughter-in-law should do all the household chores.
Father-in-law: She treats her like her own daughter.
Mother-in-law: We will never her stop her from doing what she wants.
Father-in-law: We want her to make the nation proud.
Mother-in-law: She is free to do as she pleases.
Deepali: For me, these are two completely different worlds.
NDTV: We're outside the venue of the netball matches. Like with all other venues there have been complaints that the venue is not up to the mark.The Australians have already complained that the flooring is uneven but the coach requests us not to dwell on the negative. She says the real story is the spirit of the girls and the Netball Federation which has worked hard to train these girls and give them better facilities than most sportswomen are used to.Like Deepali who you met earlier, each of these girls have made a fascinating journey to reach this level and many of their stories lead us to the smaller towns and villages of India.
Kiranjeet Kaur comes from a farming family in Punjab. While she trains hard in Delhi there is robust support from back home in Latana village, Ludhiana district.
Mohinderpal Kaur, Kiranjit's grandmother: We are proud of her. She has done a lot for the nation. Nowadays girls are doing much better than boys. We will send her out to play in more tournaments.
Baljit Singh, Kiranjit's father: We hope she continues to represent the nation at sports.
The youngest, Shireen Limaye is just 15.Her parents have both been national players, are supportive, but aren't sure if netball is the sport she should pursue.
Vijay Anant Limaye, Shireen's father: There is not much future in netball. There are no local tournaments happening in netball. There is no such calendar of netball as such. If she plays basketball, she will be busy throughout the year. So it is out of question. I don't think she will continue.
Suvarna Vijay Limaye, Shireen's mother: She is the youngest player. She had to drop out of school because of these long camps but she has to complete her studies. But she can take her own time according to her sports schedule.
What's refreshing is the barriers that these families break to support their girls who stay far away from home to play in the big cities. A pity that India's official sporting organizations can't extend the same support or infrastructure.
The odds are against these women and it's not surprising that the film that plays on their minds repeatedly is 'Chak de India' the story of a hockey team that defies all odds to bring India glory.
But that's cinema. These girls say they can only promise to their best and want their nation's support. The final selection means that 4 of them will not be in the squad and that weighs on them heavily.
Netball practice session of the women's team is in progress.
Coach, Mary Mercia Lourdes Jayasekara: You are practicing for the Commonwealth Games not to win this match today. Always keep that in mind.
Netball, the ultimate Commonwealth game, is even in the sporting event's Charter.
Coach: At the beginning of the game I said we can't depend on our speed. They are very, very experienced and those are players who have been playing at a very high level for at least 8-10 years. And ours will probably be the youngest team at the Commonwealth Games. That is a plus as well as a minus.
Once played by the royal ladies of the UK, it is said to have been first introduced in the late 1800s by a lady called Martina Berg Austerbeck to her students in the Physical Education Society of London.
From London, the game spread across the British Empire. Today, the legacy continues. In countries like Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, it is a fiercely competitive sport. In India the game is only just evolving into a more serious one.
As netball is not an Olympic sport, the Commonwealth Games becomes the most prestigious event for the game. And these women will be part of India's first women's netball team to compete in the Commonwealth Games.
NDTV: Your name?
Netball player: Shireen Limaye
NDTV: Where are you from?
Shireen: Maharashtra, Pune.
NDTV: Can I ask your age?
Shireen: 15 years.
NDTV: 15, so you are the youngest?
Netball players: Yes.
NDTV: Who is the oldest?
Deepali Sharma: I am.
NDTV: You are the one who is married?
Deepali: Yes. I have a daughter.
NDTV: And what are your names?
Netball players: Rupinder Kaur
Mainisha Rathore
Santosh Jakhar
Harminder Kaur
Leela H. S.
Prachi Tehlan
Preeti Banchor
Amanjit Kaur
Neha Kansal
Neha Bajaj
Ramandeep Kaur
Priya Dahiya
NDTV: So are you very anxious about the Commonwealth Games?
Netball players: Yes. Very.
NDTV: So will all of you be playing in the Commonwealth Games for the first time?
Netball players: Yes. And it is in India.
NDTV: Have you played against the netball teams of other Commonwealth nations like Australia and New Zealand?
Netball players: No, never.
NDTV: What is your biggest fear?
Netball players: We have no fear. We are beyond fear. We have nothing to lose. We have to give it our best shot and perform well.
The girls leave after practice bidding goodbye.
We follow the girls back to their guest house and their home. But today is the festival Rakhi so the girls from Delhi will be going to their families.
NDTV: Do you have a holiday tomorrow?
Netball players: Yes.
NDTV: The girls from Raipur won't be able to go home?
Netball players: Even all of us from Punjab will not be able to go home.
NDTV: You can go if you want.
Netball players: We can go but we will not be able to come back by evening.
NDTV: How long did it take for you to get to know each other well?
Netball players: After one week everyone liked each other. Then, we started hating things about people. We fought a bit and gradually became good friends.
Netball players: We fight a lot, but there is a lot of love between us as well.
NDTV: Who is the tallest?
One Netball player: I am. I'm 6 feet, 2 inches tall
NDTV: So what is the reaction back home in Raipur?
Tall Netball player: They all just look up at me. And they pass a lot of comments. But I like being the centre of attention. The first thing everyone tells me is how will I find a boy to marry.
NDTV: Has no one ever thought of trying their hand at modelling?
Netball player: Everyone has ambitions but you have to know how to walk on the ramp.
Another Netball player says jokingly: There will be holes in the ramp if we walk down it!
Netball player: The other thing is that none of us can walk in a lady-like manner.
NDTV: Did everyone's parents support them or were they reluctant to send you away from home?
One Netball player jokingly: They were very happy to see us leave so that they could have some peace of mind.
Another Netball player: I do miss my family. My brother keeps asking me about how many days till I come home.
NDTV: So what do you do in your free time?
Netball players: Dance. They point at one and say: She is our Shakira. And point to another: And that is our Madonna.
The girls tell the ones going home for Rakhi: Don't forget to get sweets from home.
The netball team and NDTV reach the guest house.
The girls tie Rakhis to Panchli Tatkey, Coach, netball, India.
Neha and Priti: Since you protect us we have got you a Rakhi. The elder one will tie it first.
Neha Bajaj: The Rakhi has a picture of Sai Baba, since he is your favourite.
Panchli Tatkey,Coach, Netball India: If the girls have any personal problems, then they approach me. So they are close to me.
Lots of hugging, laughing and the girls go to other rooms, chatting.
Kiranjit Kaur, netball player: I was a basketball player earlier. I represented India in basketball at the previous Commonwealth Games.
NDTV: So why did you switch over to netball?
Kiranjit: Because India is taking part in limited events at these Games. The Government has not spent on basketball.
They go to the next room.
Kiranjit: My roommate is from Punjab.
NDTV: In the film 'Chak de India' we saw how a group of girls from all over India came together to play for the nation. Is it the same case here?
Kiranjit: Absolutely. We have been together for the past year and a half, so we have bonded a lot.
Coach Panchli: This time in the Commonwealth Games women will be participating in only two team events. One is hockey and the other is netball. As the host nation we have been given a chance to play netball. The women's hockey team has qualified by winning the berth.
NDTV: There has been a lot of controversy regarding the Commonwealth Games.
Coach Panchli: Yes. We Indians have a tendency to be laid back. We wake up and react only at the last minute. When we are about to drown, we finally wake up with a start.
NDTV: Has sports benefited from the Commonwealth funds?
Coach Panchli: Yes and no. We never got exposure like this before. Because of the Commonwealth Games, the girls are getting good facilities. They have good food, good kits, proper rooms. Otherwise, you stay in dormitories, in schools. We had camps like that earlier. But because of these Games, they have got good facilities and I feel a lot more girls are going to get attracted to the game because of this.
Panchali Tatke is from Pune. A javelin player, she switched to netball. An active player once, she is now the chief coach and confidante for the girls.
NDTV: What is your reaction when you hear about corruption in the Commonwealth Games?
Coach Panchli: I don't think all this corruption is happening for the first time. This is only the first time it has come out into the open. It has been happening earlier. Earlier we were very satisfied as these girls have had access to a lot more facilities than we did in our time. But when we heard about the corruption and the money involved, we have started feeling that the actual sportsman has not got much.
Some conversation over dinner:
Coach Panchli: Are you a Jat or a Jatt?
Netball player: Yes, the pronunciation of the word Jat is slightly different in Punjab and Haryana.
NDTV: How many girls were there at the start of the camp?
Coach Panchli: Initially there were 36 people, then 30 were shortlisted and finally there are 16.
NDTV: It is like a reality show on television.
Coach Panchli: Yes, very much. Each time someone or the other cries. The one who leaves invariably starts weeping. Even her friends who qualify for the next round cry along with her.
Early morning and we're back at the training. These girls have been working up a sweat since the crack of dawn.
What emerges even in the small time we spend with the girls is their bonding to their Sri Lankan coach Mary Lourdes Jaysekara, an experienced netball player who has in the past played for the highly successful Sri Lankan women's netball team. She took over as coach of the Indians 2 years ago.
NDTV: What made you decide that you could coach the team?
Coach Lourdes: India is taking part because the Games are happening here, normally it depends upon the ranking - the first 11 countries and the host - so International Federation was a bit worried because the standard of netball was very low and the teams they were going to play were very strong. So Indian federation also approached them, they wanted the federation to select the coach, so I put in my application. First I was shortlisted, then came the interview. First was the Australian coach, I was 2nd, and 3rd was from New Zealand. Australian coach came here in November 2007 and after seeing the standard, she refused. Then they offered it to me and I had a vision that these girls could be trained, they had the talent, only someone should be there to guide them, so I said yes.
NDTV: In terms of the venue, the Ausssies have had some issues with the venue. You don't have any issues?
Coach Lourdes: We Asians are used to all kinds of rough venues, so it's not a big deal.
NDTV: The girls seem to be completely bonded with you.
Coach Lourdes: My interest is my girls and the game. I am happy I have been able to bring them up to this level. So I have confidence in my girls.
NDTV: So you'll be here during the Commonwealth Games, coaching them?
Coach Lourdes: To be frank I've resigned due to various reasons and I don't want to comment on it.
In what was emerging as a charming story of dedicated young girls and their wonderful coach, the news that Lourdes has submitted her resignation comes as a bombshell.
Lourdes' elder son is in a coma and that is the chief reason she's given for her resignationbut but it is well-known in the sporting circles that she has been treated shoddily by the Sports Authority of India.
Lourdes, on her part, refuses to speak on the issue and is determined that her personal issues do not affect the girls.
Girls in the pool.
Conversation:
NDTV: Are you having fun?
Netball player: Yes. A lot.
Netball player: We have really built up our muscles.
Netball player: Our families have noticed some changes in us. We've started being more positive since we started training.
Netball players: Since we've stayed away from home we have has a lot more exposure to the outside world. We've become extroverts. Our family members say that we talk a lot more.
Deepali's is a star player in this camp. Perfectly fit and toned, she takes her sport seriously. Married with a four year old daughter, Deepali gives us a fascinating glimpse into how many women like her combine two very different colliding worlds.
Deepali's parent's home :
Deepali: My father was also an athlete. He played volleyball. The whole family loves sports. My brother won a bronze medal in the National Games for boxing. Even my uncles and cousins are actively involved in sports.
Deepali's sister: Gharwalis are generally very active, so they love sports. It is only in India that women generally stop taking part in sports after marriage. It is mainly because they do not get support from their families. But my sister's in-laws are quite supportive. Even her husband is supportive.
Deepali: I think of netball all the time. Sometimes when I am sleeping I visualise myself on the court playing with my teammates. I can see my daughter in the stands, cheering me on.
Deepali's in-law's house:
Mother-in-law: She does wear a ghunghat at home. I insist on that if her father-in-law is around. This is the first time she is not wearing one as you have come with cameras. Otherwise we adhere to the age old customs.
Deepali: When I'm at the camp, I have a completely different lifestyle and back here I follow a different set of rules. They are completely different environments. But it is fine as it keeps everyone happy.
Mother-in-law: In our society, everyone wants a son, nobody cares for the daughter. But nowadays women are doing much better than the men.
Deepali: There has been a great change in our family. We live in a large joint family and out of the twelve daughters-in-law, I am the only one who wears jeans or shorts and goes out to play.
Father-in-law: We have no issues if Deepali goes out to play. She has even been to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Mother-in-law: I don't believe that the daughter-in-law should do all the household chores.
Father-in-law: She treats her like her own daughter.
Mother-in-law: We will never her stop her from doing what she wants.
Father-in-law: We want her to make the nation proud.
Mother-in-law: She is free to do as she pleases.
Deepali: For me, these are two completely different worlds.
NDTV: We're outside the venue of the netball matches. Like with all other venues there have been complaints that the venue is not up to the mark.The Australians have already complained that the flooring is uneven but the coach requests us not to dwell on the negative. She says the real story is the spirit of the girls and the Netball Federation which has worked hard to train these girls and give them better facilities than most sportswomen are used to.Like Deepali who you met earlier, each of these girls have made a fascinating journey to reach this level and many of their stories lead us to the smaller towns and villages of India.
Kiranjeet Kaur comes from a farming family in Punjab. While she trains hard in Delhi there is robust support from back home in Latana village, Ludhiana district.
Mohinderpal Kaur, Kiranjit's grandmother: We are proud of her. She has done a lot for the nation. Nowadays girls are doing much better than boys. We will send her out to play in more tournaments.
Baljit Singh, Kiranjit's father: We hope she continues to represent the nation at sports.
The youngest, Shireen Limaye is just 15.Her parents have both been national players, are supportive, but aren't sure if netball is the sport she should pursue.
Vijay Anant Limaye, Shireen's father: There is not much future in netball. There are no local tournaments happening in netball. There is no such calendar of netball as such. If she plays basketball, she will be busy throughout the year. So it is out of question. I don't think she will continue.
Suvarna Vijay Limaye, Shireen's mother: She is the youngest player. She had to drop out of school because of these long camps but she has to complete her studies. But she can take her own time according to her sports schedule.
What's refreshing is the barriers that these families break to support their girls who stay far away from home to play in the big cities. A pity that India's official sporting organizations can't extend the same support or infrastructure.
The odds are against these women and it's not surprising that the film that plays on their minds repeatedly is 'Chak de India' the story of a hockey team that defies all odds to bring India glory.
But that's cinema. These girls say they can only promise to their best and want their nation's support. The final selection means that 4 of them will not be in the squad and that weighs on them heavily.
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